No Rift Over Appointment of New MD, Jaiz Bank says

Jaiz Bank has said that there is no rift among its board members over the appointment of a new managing director (MD) for the bank.

In a statement issued signed by Rukayat Dahiru, secretary of Jaiz Bank, the bank said the purported disagreement over the appointment of a new MD was simply a “legitimate exercise of divergent opinions on a matter in the ordinary course of the directors’ duties.”

There have been reports of disputes in the boardroom regarding the appointment of a successor for Hassan Usman, the bank’s incumbent MD.

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The bank said the board considered the appointment of a new MD as the expiration of Usman’s tenure was approaching. Some board members wanted a change of leadership to pursue strategic goals, others wanted Usman to continue as they were impressed with his performance.

The statement noted that the bank decided to appoint Muhammad Shaheed Khan as the new MD, but his appointment was revoked as approval obtained from the relevant regulatory authorities materially modified the intention of the board as expressed in his conditional offer.

“As a testimony to the absence of a rift, the board and shareholders of the bank just commenced the process of raising additional equity of N3.3 billion through a private placement of 5.07 billion ordinary shares of 50kobo at 65kobo per share,” the statement said.

“The proposed placement was approved at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on October 28, 2020, at the bank’s head office in Abuja under the chairmanship of Umaru Mutallab.

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“The proposed capital raising exercise is an affirmation of the confidence the board and shareholders have in the prospects of the bank despite the economic uncertainties occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Jaiz is Nigeria’s first non-interest lender.

The bank added that the board and shareholders have agreed a new capital raise of N3.3 billion.

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